The pirate queen and the avengers
by Catchathief
Summary: Grace O'Malley lives with her aunt, who runs a bookstore in a town in the middle of nowhere. Then, one day she meets a man in the woods and her life turns…sideways. Because her dad taught her to expect the unexpected and that stories all have truth in them. No foul language.
1. Chapter 1

I closed my eyes and breathed deeply. I had made it. I had reached the one place no one would bother me: the treehouse my dad and I had built in the forest behind my house when I was eleven.

I reached behind me and pulled out my book. "The Scarlet Pimpernel" was my favorite book. This copy had been with me since before my dad had died. He had given it to me for my tenth birthday, saying that it was the best superhero story ever...even better than the ones he had read to me when I was little.

I turned to the middle of the book and started to read. "Chauvelin, who, as he had told Marguerite once, had seen a trick or two in his day, had never dreamed of this one. With one ear fixed on those fast-approaching footsteps, one eye turned to that door where Desgas and his men would presently appear, lulled into security by the impudent Englishman's airy manner, he never even remotely guessed the trick which was being played upon him."

I started to giggle at the next part, remembering how Dad had acted it out the first few times we read the book together. His gigantic sneezes had shaken the whole room, and caused my mom to run in, wondering what was wrong.

"Is someone there?" I heard a man call out underneath me.

I stifled my laughter and leaned out the window to see who was down on the forest floor. The stranger was a tall, blonde man in a brown leather jacket. Currently, he was looking around him, trying to find where the sounds he had heard had come from. I crossed my fingers, praying he wouldn't look up.

"I know someone's out there, you might as well show yourself." His gaze was getting a bit higher each time he looked around. I needed to make evasive maneuvers fast! I stuffed my book back in its hiding spot and climbed out the window.

I stepped onto a branch and grasped one directly above me. I carefully walked to just where the branch started to bend, knelt, and then dropped onto the branch below. Then I scrambled to that spot where a branch from another tree was close enough that I could haul myself onto it. I looked back at the man, his eyes were getting closer to the tree house. I climbed up a few branches, to where the leaves would cover me, and giggled again. The man spun around.

"Show yourself!" He commanded, walking toward me.

I edged around the trunk and scrambled onto another tree and giggled again. The man walked a bit faster.

I led him to the edge of the forest that way, circling around and around so he wouldn't realize what was happening.

When we reached the last trees, I slipped to the ground behind him and giggled as he scratched his head, probably trying to figure out how he got there.

He spun around when he heard me giggle, going into a defensive pose immediately.

"Who are you?" He demanded.

Instead of answering directly, I pointed to my house and said, "I live there. Who are you?"

"Ca...Steve. My name's Steve." His eyes narrowed slightly, "what did you say your name was?"

"Nice to meet you, Steve." I said, holding out my hand. "I'm Grace."

He took my hand reluctantly and shook it. His grasp was strong, that was good. Dad would have said that he has a strong character.

"So, Steve," I drawled, "Where're ya from?"

He hesitated for a second. "New York. I'm here on business."

I snorted, "Business? Doing what? Selling cow bells to cows? Try again. And make your lie a bit more plausible."

He turned scarlet. "Not that kind of business. I'm here to meet someone."

"In the woods?"

His already red face went even redder, "I might've gotten a bit lost."

I laughed again, "Want some help? It's a pretty small town and I've lived here my entire life, so I'd be a pretty good guide."

Now he laughed, "Why not? I'm looking for a Ms. Eliza Kelly. Heard of her? "

"Ha! You're in luck! She's my aunt! Follow me!" I rushed off toward the Main Street of my small hometown. My day had just gotten a bit more interesting.

* * *

**And, as you can see, I love The Scarlet Pimpernel. Just too much to do a fanfic with it. **


	2. Chapter 2

"Aunt Liza!" I yelled as I walked into the bookstore. "You've got a visitor!"

"I'll be right there, dear! Just cleaning up the stock room!" She yelled from the back of the shop, "I have some lemonade and cookies over by the Arthurian section. Why don't you offer some to our guest?"

I motioned for Steve to follow me, then started making my way through the piles of books stacked everywhere.

"Careful, some of these books are super old." I said as I stepped over a pile of books with a sticky note on top that labeled the pile as "Theory behind time travel. On hold for Dr. S." There were more books here than at our county library, although half of them were so hard to find it was easier to try your luck at the library.

Finally we made it to the Arthurian section, one of the only organized parts of he store. I gestured to one of the chairs at a small table and sat down in one of the others.

"Have some cookies," I said, then I lowered my voice, "Don't tell her I was in the forest, alright? She doesn't like the thought of me being in there."

Steve nodded, "Alright, but I want to know what you were doing in there, sometime, deal?"

I agreed, already thinking of several excuses to give him.

"Alright, Molly, who's here to see me?" My aunt asked as she walked in and sat in the other chair.

"His name is Steve," I stated as the man in question mouthed "Molly?"

"Steve what?" My aunt questioned as she turned to him.

"Steve Rogers, ma'am," he held our his hand and my aunt shook it firmly.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Rogers," Aunt Eliza. "May I ask why you wanted to see me?"

"Um..." He looked over at me.

I stood up, "It's fine. Go ahead and talk. I'm just gonna go organize the books on sleep problems. Maybe catch up on some sleep myself." I gave my aunt a hug and nodded to Steve. Then I walked out, toward the sleep problems section, which was right by the comic books section.

"Alright Mr. Rogers," Eliza Kelly said after her niece left, "What is it you wanted to talk to me about?"

Steve fidgeted a bit and looked down at the glass of lemonade in front of him. "SHIELD needs your help. Fury wants you to come in."

"I can't." She stated, pushing her chair back and standing up, "I retired. Fury knows that. I'm sorry I can't help you." She started to walk away.

"Wait," Steve said, standing up as well. Eliza turned and faced him, her arms crossed and her blue eyes flashing. He took a deep breath. "Fury said to tell you that this has to do with Jack." The sentence caused her to deflate and she sat down again.

"What is it Fury needs?" She asked wearily.

By the time Aunt Eliza and Steve found me in the comics section, I had already organized it by universe, character, and issue number and was reading one of them.

"You know, this stuff is pretty interesting," I said, looking up at the two of them innocently. "Did you know that there's this one character who looks EXACTLY like the guy who placed an order for those time travel books? Same name, too." I pulled out another book and held it up for my aunt and Steve to see. "And I think Steve here looks uncannily like Captain America, don't you?" I tried to hide my smile. Aunt Eliza wasn't going to pull the wool over my eyes this time!

_

"Molly..." She started, her eyes flashing dangerously.

"No, it's okay," Steve said, looking at me shrewdly. "She knows how to keep a secret, don't you Grace?"

I swallowed and nodded, thinking of the secret I was trying to keep from him. "Yeah."

My aunt rolled her eyes, "Fine. Take Mr. Rogers to the back room, Molly. He'll explain it all."


	3. Chapter 3

**So, I know that the last two chapters have been remarkably short, but here's a super long one...yep! Enjoy!**

"Before I explain all of this to you, I've got a few questions of my own," Steve started when we safely in the back room.

I sat on a dusty pile of books and leaned against the wall. "Alright, shoot."

Steve scowled. "For starters, why does your aunt call you Molly? I thought you said you name was Grace."

I smiled. "Molly is just a nickname. My name is Grace. Grace O'Malley. I was named after the Pirate Queen herself!" I added proudly.

He frowned and pushed his hand through his hair. "Alright. What were you doing in the woods?"

"Just climbing trees," I said nonchalantly.

His blue eyes stared into mine. "Really?"

I squirmed, "Well, no." I rushed on when I saw he was about to speak again. "But I promised my dad that I what I did in the woods would be a secret between me and him. I can't tell."

He sighed and nodded, "I won't push. But," he raised a finger, "Someday, I will find out."

"Not likely," I shrugged. "Your turn, though. Explain all of this stuff you and Aunt Liza were talking about."

Steve sat on a tower of books across from me and leaned forward, resting his wrists on his knees, "Well, what have you already guessed?"

"Well, that she's hiding something, for one thing. And it has to do with you and whatever you came here for. And those comic books. Or maybe the whole bookshop."

Steve nodded, "Don't tell anyone you know what I'm about to tell you, alright? Not only would it put you in danger, but it's kind of against the rules."

I smirked, "You don't seem like the type that would break the rules."

He rolled his eyes and continued, "Let's say that all those books out in the front if the shop, fiction and nonfiction, were all about real people. Peter Pan is real, the Headless Horseman is real," he sighed and muttered, "and I'm Captain America."

I nodded, taking it all in, "So then why did you come here?"

He eyed me warily. "SHIELD wants your aunt to do something for them."

"And they sent you because...?" I left the question hanging in the air between us.

He shrugged. "They just told me to do it. They didn't tell me why."

I nodded, "Fair enough. So, am I allowed to know what they want Aunt Liza to do?"

Steve was about to answer when the Mission Impossible theme song started playing. He pulled a smart phone out of his pocket and stared at it, his consternation clearly visible.

"You know," I quipped. "I'm pretty sure you press the green button to talk."

He glared at me and then answered his phone. "Agent Rogers, here, sir. What do you need?" He paused and stood, obviously listening to the man on the other end. "Yes, I've talked to her...Yes, she's willing to go...There is a slight problem, sir...she happens to be the guardian of a minor...She won't go if her niece isn't taken care of...Does she have any other living relatives?" Steve looked at me questioningly and I shook my head. "No, sir, she does not...I'm not sure that would help...Of course, sir...Yes, sir...Goodbye, sir."

"Fury?" I asked once he ended the call. When Steve nodded, I continued, "Well, what did he want?"

He sighed, "Just checking in. This mission is pretty high on his list on important things to do."

I nodded. "Well, now what?"

"We wait," he said. "Fury has an idea about what to do with you while your aunt is on this mission."

"I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself!" I huffed. "There's no reason that you couldn't just leave me to man the bookshop."

"You might get kidnapped by anyone who wants to get at SHIELD or your aunt." Steve pointed out. "Fury's calling some agents and will have a group watch over you till the mission is done."

"Agents as in…" I probed.

Steve shrugged. "He doesn't tell me everything."

I nodded, "Right. Course not. Why would he?" I stood up and stretched. "Well, I'm gonna go do something. Let me know when these agents get here, 'kay?" With that, I walked out of the back room…and into my aunt.

"Where are you going?" she asked, grabbing my arm.

"Nowhere at the moment," I remarked. "You've got my arm."

Aunt Eliza just gripped my arm more tightly. "I need you to stay here for today, alright? Don't go running off or anything. Just stay here."

I was about to roll my eyes and say something a bit sarcastic, but something in her voice stopped me. She sounded almost…scared. And that frightened me. My aunt was the bravest person I knew and if she was scared, then I should be terrified.

"Sure, Aunt Liza, I'll stay here," I agreed. "Do you want me to help with anything? Organize the books? Man the front desk?"

"NO!" she stated forcefully, tightening her grip on my arm even more. Then she calmed slightly. "No, just go back in the back room for a little while, alright? Just stay there."

"Okay." I said, gritting my teeth as her nails dug into my arm. "Will you let me go now? I'll stay in the back room, I promise."

Aunt Eliza looked down at my arm and let go, looking a bit surprised.

"Sorry," she apologized. "I'm just a bit worried."

"About what?" I asked, genuinely curious.

She sighed. "Mostly you. I don't want you to get hurt because I'm doing…"

"Favors for SHIELD?" I supplied. "I do read the comics and watch the movies. I'm also _very_ observant."

My aunt smiled tightly. "You are. Just don't let that get you into trouble."

"Those agents are on their way now," Steve said as he walked out of the back room. "Fury said they would meet us in front of the city hall."

Aunt Eliza composed herself quickly and walked over to the front counter. "Alright, let me just lock up and grab my keys."

Steve nodded. "Grace and I will wait out front, then." Then he grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the shop.

"Ow!" I rubbed my arm. "You know, both you and my aunt have really strong hands."

"Sorry about that," he smiled, then turned serious again. "Listen, I need you to do what these guys tell you, alright? They know how to keep you safe."

"Why is everyone acting like people are out to get me?" I threw my hands in the air. "I know everyone in this town. No one would want to kidnap me. If they did, everyone would know!"

"People might not be out to get you now, but we don't know if they will be soon," Steve stated seriously. "Your aunt doesn't want you to get hurt."

"And Fury doesn't want my aunt to be worried because that might ruin whatever he's having her do, right?" I rolled my eyes. "Don't worry, I'll be good." _Most of the time,_ I added silently.

"Okay, I'm ready," my aunt said as she locked the door to the shop. Then she turned and linked arms with me. "Let's go."

We walked down Main Street toward the city center. Since it was Saturday, most of our neighbors were also there, shopping or chatting with friends. Aunt Eliza stopped and talked with most of them, acting as if we didn't have anywhere to be. I started to get impatient and was about to say something, but Steve pulled me aside.

"Help me find something for lunch," he said, looking around.

"But we're going to be late!" I protested.

"Late for what?" he asked. Then he grinned. "I'm thinking sandwiches sound good. Isn't there a park by the city hall? We can have a picnic there."

I sighed and led him toward a small sandwich shop my aunt's friend owned.

"Gracey! How nice to see you!" a high pitched voice rang out as soon as the bell over the door announced my arrival. A short, slightly chubby woman rushed toward me from behind the counter. I braced myself for the anaconda-like hug I knew I was about to receive. "I never see you anymore! You're always at Liza's bookshop or at home! What have you been doing in the past month?"

I struggled to get out of her hug. "Nothing much. Just helping my aunt organize the shop. You know how she is."

She clucked her tongue and nodded. "Even when she was a kid, she never could stay organized. She was always losing important things." Then she noticed Steve and finally let go of me. "Gracey, who's your friend?"

I sighed. "This is Steve. He's a friend of the family's. Steve, this is Melissa, my aunt's best friend."

Steve stuck out his hand. "Pleasure to meet you."

Instantly, Melissa was fawning over him. "Oh, it's so good to meet you! I'm sure Liza's told you all about me. I run this shop with my husband, Drake. He should be around here somewhere. DRAKE!" She shouted. Then she turned back to Steve and smiled. "What can I do for you?"

"We'd like some sandwiches," I cut in. "We decided to take a tour of Main Street and then go up to City Hall for a picnic."

"That sound's wonderful!" Melissa gushed. "How many sandwiches do you want? And what types? I know Liza doesn't like deli turkey, but we have regular turkey, now. And we have roast beef and ham as well. Did you want drinks?" She hurried back to the counter to get the breads for the sandwiches.

"Six sandwiches and no to the drinks," Steve answered. Then he turned to look at me. "What types of sandwiches?"

I walked up to the counter and looked up at the menu. "Let's get a Thanksgiving Leftovers, an egg salad, a roast beef and swiss, a BLT, a tuna sandwich, and…" I looked over at Steve and shrugged.

"One more Thanksgiving Leftovers," he supplied.

"Alright!" Melissa said as she popped bread in the toaster and pulled vegetables and tubs of tuna fish and egg salad out of the glass-doored fridge behind her. "These will be done in just a few seconds."

While she worked, she asked Steve a barrage of questions, everything from where he was from to what he thought of the bookshop. Drake walked in from the back and nodded to me before silently helping his wife finish the sandwiches.

Finally, Melissa decided that she knew enough about Steve and finished the last sandwich. Then she rang everything up and handed me the sandwiches.

"Have fun," Drake smiled and winked at me. I rolled my eyes and followed Steve out the door.

**Anyone else get chills whenever they hear the main theme from ****_Avengers_****? Or is it just me?**


	4. Chapter 4

"So, now what?" I asked Steve as we searched for my aunt among the crowd surrounding us.

"Does your aunt have a cell phone we could call?" he asked, letting his eyes scan the throng.

I shook my head. "She says they give her headaches."

Steve nodded, still looking for Aunt Eliza. "She should be heading for the city hall, so if we head there, we should either meet her there or on the way."

"Alright, let's go!" I started walking toward the city hall. After I was a few feet away, I realized he was still standing where I had left him. "You coming?"

He walked over to me. "I think we should go an alternate route. Just to make sure no one's following us."

"Okay," I said, looking around for anyone that looked suspicious. There was that guy that had the overly large moustache….or that lady that hadn't turned the page in her book for over two minutes. That was suspicious. "Yeah. I think I have a roundabout way of getting where we need to go. Come on."

This time Steve followed me. I led him through some back roads to the forest. Then we wove through the trees, sometimes following the path, sometimes crossing it. Steve was able to keep up with me, until we finally got to the bottom of the hill that led to City Hall.

"City Hall is at the top of the hill," I pointed in the direction we needed to go. "Do you think we'll be okay to just walk up there, or should we take a longer route?"

Steve shrugged. "After all those switchbacks and turns you took us through, I'd be surprised if anyone did follow us."

I nodded, but a little voice in the back of my head whispered that someone always beat an expectation. Always.

But, instead of listening to what I wrote off as doubts, I led the way up the hill to the Neoclassic building at the top.

There we saw my aunt, sitting on a red and white checked blanket and laughing with two strangers. One of them pointed to us and my aunt turned to look. She nodded to something they said and motioned us toward them.

"Molly! This is Mr. Barton and Ms. Romanoff. Clint, Natasha, this is my niece, Grace. Of course, you already know Steve." The two nodded and smiled.

"We brought food!" I said, holding up the bag of sandwiches. "Oh, and Melissa says to tell you hi, Aunt Liza."

As she nodded, Steve and I sat down.

"Mmm! I'm starving!" Mr. Barton exclaimed. "What'd you bring?"

Instead of just telling him, Steve grabbed the sack and threw it to him. "Pick one."

The lady – Ms. Romanoff – stole the sack and rustled through it. "What's this?" she asked, holding up a sandwich.

"That's a Thanksgiving Leftovers Sandwich." Aunt Eliza supplied. "It's got turkey, cranberry sauce, and stuffing on it. Molly convinced my friend, Melissa to start selling them a few years ago. They're really popular around Thanksgiving and Christmas."

Ms. Romanoff nodded and placed it aside. Then she gave the bag back to Mr. Barton. "Alright, Clint. You can pick now."

He rolled his eyes. "Thank you _so_ much." Then he grabbed a sandwich and tossed the bag to my aunt. She snatched her favorite – the egg salad – and tossed the bag back to me. I took out the last Thanksgiving Leftovers and passed the remaining sandwiches to Steve. He grabbed the tuna sandwich and took a bite.

"So, now what?" I asked.

"Now, we eat," Mr. Barton said through a mouthful of sandwich. "Then we can get to talking about what's next."

Ms. Romanoff nodded. "Yeah. Then we can go back to Lizzie's bookshop and talk."

"Lizzie?" I turned to my aunt. "I thought you only let –"

My aunt cut me off quickly. "I'm not sure the bookshop is the best place to talk about this. We may need to go to the house to discuss this."

Steve grabbed the last sandwich. "The house? Don't you live in an apartment above the shop?"

I sighed. "We do, but the house is mine. The one I grew up in before I went to live with Aunt Liza. Remember the house I showed you earlier? That's the one."

Steve nodded and they all chewed in silence for a few minutes. There was really nothing we could

say. I couldn't ask how my aunt knew them, because that would be classified. I couldn't ask where they were from for the same reason. Then I thought of a golden question.

"So, what do you guys do for a living?"

The two SHIELD agents looked at each other.

"Well, right now we're between jobs…" Mr. Barton started.

"But I was a secretary for a little while," Ms. Romanoff offered.

"And I sometimes substitute as a PE teacher," Mr. Barton supplied.

I nodded, taking it in. "Alright. Well, I'm full…so I'm going to go home now." I hugged Aunt Eliza. "I'll see you when you get home."

Steve stood up. "I'll come with you."

"Actually, we'd better come too." Aunt Liza hopped up, grabbing the empty sandwich bag. "Natasha and Clint will be staying with us and I don't want them to get lost on their way."

The two spies nodded and stood as well. Then they each grabbed a side of the blanket and worked together to fold it. Once they were done, they tossed it to Steve, who caught it and tucked it under his arm.

"Let's go," he said, stealing the sack from my aunt and walking away.

"Hey, Steve!" I called, trying hard not to laugh. When he looked back, I pointed behind me. "The house is that way!" His mouth quirked up into an embarrassed smile as he turned and started walking the way I was pointing.

* * *

**And that's it for now...I realized that the chapters for this story are really short compared to my other fanfic...um...um...well, that's about it! thanks for reading this!**


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